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Hopeful Parenting: Encouragement for Raising Kids Who Love God

Review

Hopeful Parenting: Encouragement for Raising Kids Who Love God

Evangelicals from across the religious spectrum have benefited from and delighted in David Jeremiah's messages throughout the years. His internationally syndicated radio and television program, “Turning Point,” changes lives every day. In this current book, the bestselling author and pastor turns his attention to the task of parenting --- hopeful parenting to be precise.

As a father of four grown children and grandfather of 10, Jeremiah and wife Donna have much wisdom and experience to draw upon and impart to today's parents struggling to be hopeful in a difficult and challenging world. Practical and yet encouraging, Jeremiah recounts the many biblical examples of parenting (done right and failed) and similarly tells of current families’ plights as they seek to rear and raise their youngsters to be faithful men and women of God.

Telling his own family's story as he expounds upon particular biblical principles for parenting, Jeremiah is forthright with his own struggles and failures. Parents will find excellent resources on such topics as the privilege and challenge of the parenting role, children as God's great gift, how to build a solid family foundation, benefits of a Christian home, pride and joy as a two-way street, the faithful home, learning to let children go, and encouragement to single parents.

Readers will find especially inspiring Jeremiah’s two chapters on Raising Courageous Daniels (for boys) and Rearing Faith-Filled Esthers (for girls). Citing text in the Book of Daniel, he describes how the young man Daniel exhibited uncompromising fortitude, demonstrated conviction, maintained his integrity with unflagging confidence and maintained consistency. So how can today's parents impart this type of maturity? Jeremiah instructs moms and dads to tell their sons never to underestimate the importance of their choices, to decide upon convictions before facing the choice, to determine the risk factor in every situation, to depend upon God daily, to develop friends who will stand with them, and to teach them how to declare decisions with courage.

In the twin chapter focusing on raising Faith-Filled Esthers, the author retells the story of Esther and her selfless reliance on God when an evil ruler threatened her people with extinction. Esther exhibited great faith and wisdom as she sought the Lord during this crucial test. Parents can raise an Esther by helping young women see that the more crucial the project, the more critical the preparation. While waiting on important issues, we still work on the mundane, and when her cause is righteous, her courage will be reinforced.

Jeremiah's counsel is current and modern, yet his advice (as always, rooted in the biblical principles found in scripture) is timeless. Despite the media naysayers who say the family unit is destined to destruction, he believes that God can and does regularly answer the prayers of moms and dads who seek His help. Encouraging and instructive, fans of David Jeremiah will not be disappointed.

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Reviewed by Michele Howe on November 13, 2011

Hopeful Parenting: Encouragement for Raising Kids Who Love God
by David Jeremiah

  • Publication Date: April 1, 2008
  • Genres: Christian, Parenting
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: David C. Cook
  • ISBN-10: 1434799891
  • ISBN-13: 9781434799890